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A church for all ages |
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What We Are About The teenage years are times of great change for young people. For most these changes are exciting and challenging, but for some they cause anxiety and pain. Often, all that is needed is for someone to come alongside them and accompany them, for a short time, on this difficult journey from childhood to adulthood. We see our work very much as preventative in
nature. A project* run across three local authorities in Scotland since 1994 exclusively with persistent offenders
found that 90% had some experience of loss and rejection within their family of origin. We are committed to multi-agency working, achieving the five outcomes of the Every Child Matters document (particularly ‘be healthy’, ‘enjoy and achieve’ and ’make a positive contribution’. We seek to deliver an integrated frontline service organised around the young person’s needs. |
How We Work We work closely with the pastoral support staff within secondary schools. When students are identified as struggling with emotional issues a referral can be made for one of our team to carry out an initial assessment. Working closely with pastoral staff, EBD and Connexions enables us to obtain the most appropriate support for the young person. What can we offer? Small groups: Our ‘Losing Someone Close’ small group course material has enabled many students coping with changes in the family including divorce/separation, to identify feelings and develop strategies to cope. Approximately 60 students per year access our small groups which are delivered by trained volunteers backed up by professional supervision. Mentoring: We have trained mentors who can provide 1:1 support for students who need it. We are currently in the process of applying for Approved Provider Standard – the government’s ‘kitemark’ for quality mentoring programmes. |
Resources We are developing a range of resources around emotional resilience including anger management, self –esteem and peer mentoring. Partnership working: In association with our partners x-stream youth work we are able to sign post schools to a team who are carrying out some valuable transition work with Year 6 students. We also work closely with Shirley Family Support Centre who can provide free pregnancy testing and advice for young people. Parenting courses: We offer parenting courses for parents of teenagers and have recently delivered a course for parents of teenagers with special needs in association with SNAP (Special Needs Action Partnership). |
Olton Baptist Church
This
Way Up began in 2002 under the name Growing Through Teens. Our aims have always been to enable young
people to achieve their potential through understanding themselves better. As a Christian based organisation we
are concerned about the emotional and spiritual development of young people while respecting the beliefs and views
of each unique individual. The work is managed by Pete & Mandy English (pictured right).
Our
patron is Caroline Spelman MP (pictured left) and our board of trustees include a cross
section of skills including a local GP, PCT staff and senior managers in local business . Our board of reference
includes Peter Baldwin (pictured right), a senior partner with Anthony Collins and a member of the Law Society’s Children’s Panel.
